Divorce
by xxRikkexx1
Summary: This story is part of Akirealev and Winterschild11's angst challenge (May/June 2013)... Thanks for the invite guys :) This is a two shot and it's AU or at least pre-series. The guys are 15. When James comes home at a time when he is not expected his life falls apart... Warnings: Language, drugs and underage drinking. Enjoy the story :D
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is my first BTR story in quite a while! My writer's block seems to be pretty persistent and it just won't let me write Big Time Rush. It's driving me freaking mad! **

**Other than the block, life is keeping me very busy these days with a new job, preparations for an exam in June and some personal family stuff. All of it leaves me very little time for writing, but I promise I'll update Monsters as soon as everything will let me...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the cover photo (no copyright infringement intended) and as usual I don't own the boys, I just bring them out to play...**

**This story is part of Akirealev and Winterschild11's angst challenge... Thanks for the invite guys :)**

**Have fun reading :D**

* * *

Logan eyed James warily but didn't say anything. He didn't really approve of the joint being passed around between his friends, but had given up trying to persuade them not to get high. These last few months had been hard on James, and when Kendall had introduced him to the joys of the green herbs he had been all too happy to indulge into the world of numbed feelings and pointless giggles.

Carlos coughed a bit, not as used to the thick smoke in his throat as the other two, and looked at James with red rimmed eyes.

"Man, I'm really sorry James!" he drawled and took a swig of his soda to appease his parched throat.

James shook his head and took another hit of the joint.

"It's okay Carlos, I guess every married couple have their bad moments..."

"It's not okay!" Logan exclaimed rather angrily, "parents shouldn't fight in front of their kids!"

He looked at his feet, perfectly knowing what he was talking about. Images of his mom and dad yelling and screaming in front his nine-year-old self flashed before his eyes. He swallowed hard, still feeling a tiny knot in his stomach when he thought about the divorce that had happened five years ago when he was ten.

"Logan..." Kendall butted in, furrowing his brow at the smaller boy, "lose the anger dude, that's not what James needs right now!"

Logan clenched his jaw and sighed deeply. Maybe Kendall was right, but getting high sure as hell wasn't an awesome way to deal either!

x-x

The ashtray on the table was filled with the ashes and leftovers from three joints, Logan had left 45 minutes earlier and Carlos had been passed out for more than an hour when James finally got off the couch. His legs felt like Jell-O and his head like it weighed 100 pounds. James exhaled before drawing in a deep breath. He looked at his phone and felt a tiny rush of panic run through him. 1.55 a.m. If his parents found out, he would be grounded for a decade!

"See you on Monday, man..." he said in a tired voice and looked at Kendall.

"Yeah, see you..." Kendall answered and nodded his head at James, "sleep tight, man."

x-x

James silently crawled through his second story window and almost fell back out when someone suddenly switched the light on in the pitch black room. James let out a startled yelp and squinted at the bright light.

"And just what do you think you're doing, young man?!"

James felt his heart race in his chest as he looked at one thoroughly pissed off Brooke Diamond!

"M-mom" he managed to get out, "I..I uummm... it's not-"

"I don't need your explanation, James! Crawling through your window at two at night! Your curfew is at 12 and you didn't have permission to leave the house in the first place! You are in so much trouble, mister!"

Brooke advanced on James, making the quivering teen back up against the wall. He swallowed hard, not knowing what to do.

When Brooke was a few feet away from her son she stopped dead in her tracks, scrunching up her nose. James felt immense panic spread through him when he saw his mother sniff the air. Holy fucking shit! This was so bad!

Brooke's eyes were mere slits and James had never seen her this angry. Not even the pee wee hockey party where she had been forced to rent a bounce-house and serve beans and weenies had her panties in such a tight twist!

"MIIIKE!" she yelled, "GET IN HERE!"

Michael Diamond came sprinting from down the hall and entered James' bedroom with a maniacal look in his eyes. When he saw Brooke eyeing their son sternly his sky rocketing pulse caught a break and his heart crawled from his throat back to its proper place! From the pitch in Brooke's voice Michael had been certain some creep was succeeding in murdering James in his sleep, and when he realized that he was merely dealing with a broken curfew he visibly relaxed. For a few seconds anyway!

"Smell him!" Brooke demanded with her arms crossed.

James bit his lip and narrowed his eyes. He was so screwed!

"That's really not neces-" he started in a dazed voice but stopped himself when his dad grabbed the front of his shirt to drag him closer.

The smell of pot was overwhelming and Mike felt the anger spread throughout his body. He would tolerate a lot from James without getting too worked up. Drinking, girls, breaking curfew. But drugs in any form was a definite no go! He had been down that road enough for the both of them, and one of Mike's greatest fears was losing his son to that particular environment.

"JAMES DYLAN DIAMOND!" Mike boomed, making the teen in question flinch, "WHAT THE HELL'S GOTTEN INTO YOU!"

"Umm, well... some weed and coke, I guess..." James drawled before he could stop his still stoned self from uttering those insanely stupid words.

"COKE! YOU DID COKE?" Brooke screamed while Mike changed his grip from the front of James' shirt to his upper arm.

James winced at the hard grip his dad had on him and then realized what he had said.

"No, nonono... that's not what I meant... I..."

"An answer right about now would be a good idea!" Mike roared, giving James a firm shake.

"Coke as in Coca Cola! Freakin' hell!" James spat, angry with his parents for thinking he would actually do coke and angry with himself for being in this situation in the first place.

"Oh, thank God!" Brooke sighed and wrapped her arms around herself.

Mike pulled James firmly with him out of the room. He pushed the bathroom door open and turned on the water in the shower. Before James understood what would happen, his dad planted him under the cold, running water, clothes and all still on him.

The boy shrieked when the icy water hit him and did a clumsy pirouette to escape the shower. When James was out of the water's reach he shook his head, sending droplets of water in every direction.

"What the hell, Dad!" he spluttered and sent his father an indignant look.

"You needed to sober up, buddy!" Mike growled in a low voice, "Now, get out of those wet clothes and put something dry on. And then you'll move your sorry ass to the living room couch, are we clear?"

James wiped a hand across his wet face and merely huffed at his dad's words.

"Are we clear, James?!" Mike yelled, making the teen flinch slightly.

"Yes, sir" James answered quickly, intent on not worsening the situation any further.

x-x

James was sitting on the couch, feet bouncing slightly, as he tried to focus on the pair of angry parents in front of him. Brooke had yelled for ten minutes straight before Mike cut her off and took over with the talk of the danger of doing drugs.

He paced the space in front of the couch, arms crossed and an angry look on his face. When he finally finished his speech Brooke took over again.

"What is wrong with you these days, James?" she asked accusingly, "Cutting class, breaking curfew, and now you're smoking pot as well! I will NOT tolerate such a behavior from you, young man! This is not how you were raised!"

James sighed deeply and crossed his arms. This was such a load of crap, he thought and wished he was lying in his bed, sleeping, and not sitting here getting chewed out by his parents.

Brooke raised a finger and pointed it right at James' face.

"You can lose that attitude right now, James!" she scolded, "_You_ are the one who made all these poor choices, _not_ me, _not_ your father, so I don't appreciate that insolent look on your face!"

"Right" James started, fed up with the telling-off, "It's all _my_ fault! You two are such perfect role models and I'm just a bad kid! You know what Mom, screw you!"

Brooke's eyes widened.

"The both of you!" James added with a seething look at his dad.

Mike's face quickly reddened at his son's words and Brooke opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, like a fish out of water. Neither one was used to James talking to them that way, and his outburst made Brooke's stomach bubble with anger.

"I will not be talked to in that manner by my fifteen-year-old son!"

"Fine!" James sneered, "I'm going to bed!"

"Damn straight, you are!" Mike roared and grabbed James by his shirt.

James squinted and pulled his head back when his father invaded his personal space and growled through gritted teeth:

"You are grounded for the next month, James! And if you so much as throw your mother an insolent glare I'll add to it, got it!"

Mike pulled James from the couch and without further words dragged him all the way to his room. The door slammed behind James and he ran a hand through his still wet locks. This night hadn't exactly ended like planned! Damn it!

James sighed and nosedove onto his bed. He crawled under the duvet and though thoughts whirled through his head it didn't take long for the worn out boy to fall asleep.

x-x

James opened his eyes when he heard his door creak. He rolled over to see his mom enter the room with a tray of food. Well, that's a new one! James thought to himself, but happily accepted the offered glass of juice that Brooke was holding out to him.

He downed half of it in one sip and looked up at his mother.

"James..." she started in a tired, gentle voice, "what's happened to my happy, polite boy these past months?"

James swallowed and bit his lip. Should he actually tell her what was going on!

"Mom, I..."

Brooke sat down on the bed and looked at her son. She caught his eyes, and looked deep into the hazel orbs, currently radiating hurt and reluctance.

"What is it, baby... Please tell me, James!"

The boy in question swallowed again, feeling his throat tighten.

"I'm not trying to be a bad kid, Mom, it's just... I'm so... angry all the time!"

Brooke raised her brows in an asking gesture, but didn't say anything.

"At you. At Dad... you guys used to be happy, having a laugh all the time, going places, throwing parties. Now all you do is fight..."

"Oh, James!" Brooke pulled her son in for a hug and stroked his soft hair, "I'm sorry, baby... Your dad and I are just going through a rough patch. It happens to everybody who have been together for as long as we have!"

"I know, but... could you please not fight in front of me and please stop using me against each other!"

"We don't-" Brooke stopped mid-sentence, realizing that her and Mike actually had been yelling at each other in front of James last afternoon.

She sighed and swallowed her spit, feeling a knot of guilt grow in her stomach.

"No more fighting in front of you, baby, I promise...But James; I still really need to talk to you about what happened last night. Do you understand why we were so upset?"

"Mom..." James whined, not feeling like talking about last night.

"I mean it, James!"

When James still didn't say anything, Brooke decided to break the ice.

"When your father and I had been together for some time he suddenly started hanging out with a bad crowd. They introduced him to drugs and soon he was getting in way over his head! It started with pot as well, but it didn't take long before he took LSD, mushrooms and probably more that he never told me about! He was spiraling out of control and I almost left him... He changed, James. And he scared me! It's not a joke when grown-ups tell you kids that drugs are dangerous, you know!"

"I know that, Mom... you don't have to go there, ok!"

"If you really knew how dangerous it was, then why the hell did you do it? You're not stupid James, albeit maybe quite naïve sometimes!"

James scoffed, not liking that last comment.

"I just wanted to relax for a while, not having to worry about you and Dad..."

Brooke crossed her arms and gave James a stern look.

"And did it work?"

James felt reluctant to answer, but saw the look on his mom's face.

"No..." he drawled then, not happy to admit that exact fact, "it was stupid okay, I know that... I won't do it again, I promise..."

Brooke brushed her hand through James' hair again, then grabbed a handful of brown locks and shook his head lightly.

"That's what I wanted to hear James. I love you, baby"

James smiled at his mom, feeling better than he had for the past months and gently freed his hair from his mother's grasp.

Brooke got off the bed and turned around when she reached the door. She pointed a finger at her son.

"Now you behave and don't break your grounding! Your Dad is still pretty mad about last night, so don't give him a reason to lose it again, okay..."

"I'll be good, Mom. I love you too..."

Brooke opened the door but turned around one last time when she heard James clear his throat.

"What made Dad quit with the drugs?" he asked quietly.

Brooke smiled and tilted her head.

"You did, baby..."

James' mouth fell agape and Brooke laughed lovingly.

"Just when I finally decided I was going to leave Mike I found out I was pregnant with you. It changed everything, James! Mike cut off the group of friends who did drugs and he managed to turn his life around. You gave him a reason to find his way back. _You_ were the reason! And that's why you scared your dad so much last night. I don't think you can do anything that will make him as mad as doing drugs!"

James nodded silently, processing this new knowledge. When he looked up, Brooke had left, and James fell backwards on the bed with a smile on his face. Maybe having this talk with his mom would help his parents through their hard time. When Brooke told about how everything changed when James came along, the look in her eyes had been full of love, and James crossed his fingers that his parents wouldn't end up leaving each other, just like Logan's folks had.

Sadly they would...

* * *

**Alrighty, so that was the first chapter. There will just be one more... **

**Please, please leave me a review with your thoughts – feedback makes my day :)**

**Have a great weekend everybody \m/**

**- Rikke**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, here we go with part two...**

**Warnings: underage drinking and some sex in this one. And obviously language as well (quite a lot of F-bombs in this chapter)**

**Have fun reading :D**

* * *

James was sitting on his window sill, looking at the outside world. He had been grounded for three weeks and was more than ready to be let back out to the freedom!

James would be the first to tell you that when life consisted of nothing more than school, homework and chores, it sucked BIG time! Three weeks of not hanging out with Kendall, Carlos and Logan was freaking boring, and the progress he had made with Lucille Hennings from sophomore class was surely lost to someone from her own year or older! Crap!

He was banned from his phone, TV and video games and was left with reading – which was not James Diamond's cup of tea, helping with stuff around the house and working out. These last weeks James had been running more than ever, doing hundreds of crunches and push ups, and though staying fit was important to him it became pretty trivial very quickly!

x-x

James had considered sneaking out later that night. There was going to be a huge party just a few blocks over, but the thought of being caught again, making his dad lose it again, being grounded again, made him discard the plans almost as soon as he had thought about them!

His mom was out of town on a business trip, so chances of getting caught were actually pretty slim, but he wasn't willing to risk it!

James sighed to himself and craned his neck to follow the hot girl walking by on the street. She was wearing a rather short dress and a small breeze made it fly around her legs, making her butt visible for a second.

"Dayum!" James mumbled, feeling compelled to jump to the ground and chat up the beautiful girl right there.

James flinched when his door suddenly opened. He whipped around and saw his dad in the doorway. Mike leaned on the door frame and smiled at his son.

"What?" James asked with a bit of unintentional attitude.

Mike ignored the tone in James' voice and raised his brows.

"How would you like being let off the grounding early?"

"What?" James asked again, this time without any attitude.

"Consider it being released for good behavior..."

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. This was not like his dad at all!

"I heard about the party... and I thought that you needed to get out of the house" Mike said with a smile, feeling a huge knot form in his stomach from lying to his only child like that.

Actually he hadn't lied yet, but his reasons for letting James off, weren't as pure hearted as he made them out to be!

James narrowed his eyes a bit and looked intently at his father.

"What's the catch?"

Mike huffed and then smiled at James.

"There's no catch, James, I just think you've deserved your freedom back..."

Now feeling pretty sure that his dad actually meant what he said, James slipped from the window sill and practically ran to the door.

"Well then I'll take the offer..." he patted his father on the shoulder and sprinted down the hallway, "thanks Dad!" he yelled just seconds before Mike heard the front door slam.

The guilty knot in Mike's gut quickly subsided and his thoughts started going through the plans for the night. With both Brooke and James safely out of the house this was certain to be a great evening!

x-x

After getting the pretty girl's phone number James called Kendall to let him know that he was now on for tonight.

"Your dad reduced your grounding?" Kendall asked incredulously, "that's great and all, but it definitely doesn't sound like him..."

"No, I know" James answered, "but I figure I'll just enjoy it, meet up with my new acquaintance at the party tonight, finally get back in the dating game! I feel like a freaking monk!"

Kendall laughed at that but couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. When did Michael Diamond ever reduce a punishment! It certainly hadn't ever happened before.

x-x

The music was pounding, red plastic cups flooding the entire house and more than a hundred teenagers were having a blast. Carlos was hooting wildly as he attempted to snowboard down the long flight of stairs. It went surprisingly well and he didn't fall until the very end. He whirled through the air and then collided roughly with a dark-haired girl, making them both tumble to the floor.

Carlos was quickly back on his feet, giving the trusty helmet a loving pat. He extended a hand to the girl on the floor and she instantly accepted.

"Hi, I'm Carlos" the Latino said happily and smiled a the girl, "sorry for knocking you over! I was just trying to have some fun!"

"It's okay" she answered, shaking her head slightly as if to focus her eyes, "I'm Jessica. Maybe we should just go snowboarding with actual snow next time."

Across the room Kendall shook his head with a smile and looked at Logan.

"I think he better stick with that one. Pretty, sweet _and_ open-minded!"

Logan nodded in agreement. Carlos rarely stumbled across girls who embraced his crazy, stunt-craving side!

"What do _you_ think about her, James?" Logan asked and turned towards his friends.

He raised his eyebrows and then looked at Kendall with a bemused look.

"Wow, he ain't wasting his time!" Logan laughed, making Kendall smile broadly.

James was currently staring intensely at the girl he had met earlier that day and felt the teenage hormones raging through his body. Damn, she was too hot! And she was 16! Double score!

The short-dressed, hot girl, whose name was Monica, was sending James suggestive looks, pursing her lips and flipping her hair flirtatiously. James sent her the famous, dazzling James Diamond smile and was instantly rewarded when Monica took a step forward and pressed her soft lips against his. Works every time, James mused, losing himself in the kiss. This night would definitely be a full blown celebration of his newly gained freedom, and James was sure that he wouldn't feel like a monk much longer!

Monica pulled back with a slight squelch and smiled at James.

"Do you wanna find somewhere more private?" she asked and sent James a look both timid and wanting.

"Yeah, that'd be awesome" James said, feeling his heart do an extra take. Maybe tonight would be the night he crossed the line for real!

x-x

James was panting, gripping the pillow tightly and looked down to see Monica slowly letting her mouth take in his length again.

"Oh God!" James gurgled and drew a deep breath.

Monica had just removed her warm mouth from James and was about to take off her panties when a collective yell of "COOOPS!" reached them both. Monica screeched, instantly blabbering about her strict, religious father and jumped off the bed to put on her clothes. James followed her example, not intrigued with the idea of being found butt naked with a boner by some huge-ass cop!

"Come on..." James ushered and quickly opened the window.

Monica only hesitated for a second before she crawled out onto the roof and waited for James. They snuck across the black, somewhat slippery roof and succeeded in reaching the end without being seen. A huge willow tree reached the edge of the roof and James immediately climbed to the tree. Monica silently followed and together the two slightly drunk teens managed to slip to the neighbor's garden.

They threw each other a smile, both feeling the adrenaline course through their veins from the excitement, and leaned in for another kiss.

"Call me!" Monica whispered and gave James' butt a small squeeze, "we have unfinished business!"

James let out a somewhat ridiculous noise as an answer and blushed slightly.

"See you later Monica..." James managed to say before the two parted ways.

x-x

James was smiling to himself as he walked home, his heart fluttering in his chest. Despite being interrupted right before getting down to some serious business James had had a great night! Getting out of the grounding, hanging out with his friends again, beers, music and a beautiful girl; what could possibly ruin this?!

At 11.45 p.m. James walked up the driveway, a smile still gracing his features. He silently opened the door and slipped inside the house. He was taking off his shoes when he heard the first noises. James cringed slightly when the nature of the sounds dawned on him. Was his dad watching porn?!I do NOT want to know about that, James thought to himself while a shiver ran down his spine as an unwanted image flickered in his head.

James tip-toed towards his room, trying his best to ignore the loud moans coming from his parents bedroom. He had his hand on his door knob when the female groans intensified.

"Oh, God yes... Mike, Mike, oh!"

The teen froze and tried convincing himself that lots of guys were named Mike and that the speakers in the bedroom always managed to make everything sound so lifelike! Then he heard his father's voice.

"Fuck, Mindy, oh yeah... unh!"

A maelstrom of emotions exploded in James. He felt his hands shake and tried telling himself that he had to be imagining things. James turned around and slowly walked towards the door to the master bedroom. The door wasn't closed all the way and James peered through the crack; he had to be sure. What he saw made him want to puke his guts out. His dad was standing naked as the day he was born, boning a woman he definitely was not married to!

And then everything went to hell! The woman in the bed started screaming her climax out for the world to hear, James' dad grunted in tune with his thrusts and downstairs the door slammed shut when Brooke returned home early. James was frozen in place, stuck in a situation he had no idea how to deal with. He felt like he absorbed every sound, every movement in his presence and at the same time shut it all out.

James wanted to scream, puke, cry, kick, hit and hide. The shaking had spread to his entire body and a new mad rage tore at his insides. James wanted to tear his dad a new asshole then stuff both Mike's legs in there!

x-x

Brooke was bracing herself for what she was about to see. As soon as she entered the hall she knew that her deepest fears and suspicions had come to life! A howling bimbo from upstairs was quite the give away!

Brooke's anger was flaring and when she reached the top of the stairs she felt like a raging bull. This was it. All the talks from the last three weeks about starting over had been pure bullshit, all the promises empty. Brooke had had enough. This time Mike was going to regret his actions!

She drew a deep breath and raised her eyes from floor level just to see her son standing in front of the door to the master bedroom, a look of shock on his handsome face. She approached him carefully and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Go to your room please, James" she said, sounding more stern than she intended.

James flinched at the touch and looked at his mother. He didn't say anything but took a small step towards his own room.

Brooke then charged through the bedroom door, the rage and hurt building, making her husband and his companion yelp in startled surprise.

"Br-Brooke" Mike stuttered, quickly discarding the girl on the bed and covering his private parts with his hand, "this... I... she..."

"So all your words were lies! AGAIN! You fucking asshole, Mike!" Brooke was practically screaming, tears pooling in her eyes but not falling.

Brooke turned her attention towards the young woman who was desperately trying to put on her clothes. Brooke raised a pointing finger at her, then decided that was not enough and so proceeded to go to her, grab her roughly by her arm and drag her towards the door.

"Get out of my house!" Brooke growled at the young woman, disgust washing through her.

"Don't hurt her, Brooke!" Mike roared while quickly putting on his boxers. Brooke merely growled at his words.

The girl started howling and nearly collided with James as he barged through the door, a look of unbelievable hurt in his eyes. The young woman had the decency to look ashamed and cast her eyes to the floor as she ran past the teen.

There was a second of complete silence and both Brooke and Mike seemed to have temporarily frozen on their respective spots. James took three long steps forward and reached his father.

"You fucking bastard!" James yelled and clenched his fists.

"James go to your room!" Brooke demanded, she didn't want her son seeing this and was angry that he hadn't listened to her the first time.

Mike, angry with both himself, Brooke and James, felt a rush of rage run through him.

"Don't you take that freaking tone with me, James! This does not concern you! Now, GO TO YOUR ROOM!"

"Doesn't concern me!" James roared, tears glistening in his eyes, "FUCK YOU, DAD!"

He raised a fist and let it connect harshly with his father's cheekbone. The punch gave a satisfactory crunching noise and James narrowed his eyes while pulling back his arm again.

In the background Brooke gasped, conflicting feelings running through her. Mike cupped his hurt face and looked at James in shock. He drew in a breath and removed his hand, a red bruise already forming on his cheekbone. Reflexively Mike lifted his other arm and without thinking slapped James hard across the face. The smack echoed through the room and James took a step backwards, his dad's red hand print shining on his stinging cheek.

"Don't you touch him!" Brooke hollered stepping in between her son and husband and pushed Mike, making him fall backwards onto the bed.

"He fucking punched me in the face!" the man growled, getting back up.

"Yeah, well you need to get the hell out of my house unless you want me to punch your nose in!"

Mike sighed overly dramatic and tried grabbing Brooke around her shoulders to make her calm down. However his gesture had the exact opposite effect! Brooke huffed and let out a dangerous growling sneer before proceeding to slap Mike so hard he spun around and stumbled to his knees when he collided with the bed frame.

"Pack your stuff and get out!" Brooke said in an eerily calm voice.

x-x

James was standing in the middle of the room, watching the unfolding scene between his parents. His heart was pounding so hard he was sure it could be heard in freaking Europe, his cheek still warm and red and his entire life falling apart around him. His dad was throwing a temper tantrum worthy of a two-year-old and his mom was in a state of continued yelling and crying.

"Stop it" James whispered, feeling more tired than ever before.

No one heard him and the screaming and yelling continued.

"Please stop!" James tried again, this time a little louder.

His dad sent him a quick look but then continued his tantrum. A second later Brooke threw a large bag in Mike's face and demanded he gathered his stuff and left immediately.

"I don't wanna look at your goddamn face a minute longer, Michael! We're done! YOU FUCKED A FREAKING SCHOOL GIRL, MIKE! I WANT A DIVORCE!"

"FUCKING STOP IT!" James screamed, tears spilling down his cheeks, "JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Both Mike and Brooke quieted down and looked at their son. He had never looked so lost, and yet neither of them went to comfort him.

Mike felt anger, desperation and shame wash through him and he wanted nothing more than to hug James, convince him that life would be okay. But he didn't!

Brooke felt fear, betrayal and sadness pump through her veins and she wanted nothing more than to hold her son tight, stroke his hair and tell him he would be fine. But she didn't!

x-x

James let out a sob and stormed out of the room. He heard his mom and dad yell for him but continued down the stairs and out into the slight chill of the late September night.

He called Kendall and, despite his breaking voice, managed to tell him what had happened and what he needed.

x-x

At 4.00 a.m. James had no more swear words to get out and no more silent tears to cry. He felt hollow, like an empty shell and looked at his friends. The greatest friends on the face of the earth! Always and forever they would be there for each other, James thought, a jolt of love shooting through his body.

"James" Logan said gently and placed a hand on James' shoulder, "it might not seem like it right now, but you _will_ be fine. Life goes on, you know..."

James didn't say anything but offered a tiny huff.

Two minutes later he was slipping into sleep, images of the night haunting him. His dad, the man he used to look up to, fucking a girl only ten years older than James, his mom yelling and screaming, making it known without a doubt that the marriage was over! It was over, his family was falling apart!

And just then, when everything felt like a black, never-ending spiral, other images flashed for James' eyes. Memories from his childhood with Kendall, with Carlos and with Logan. Memories that made him smile and his heart pound. Memories that told him that family wasn't limited to blood. Those were his brothers and as long as they were in this together, he would be fine. Just like Logan had said; life goes on.

Even after a divorce.

* * *

**A/N: I think that was it... bit of a cheesy ending there, sorry :P Hope you enjoyed it though. As always I'd love some feedback...**

**- Rikke**


End file.
